Clay Pots ~ coffee

Some of you might know the amount of work that goes into a simple cup of coffee. Then again, maybe you don't... I didn't. Even after living in Tobo where they grew coffee, 'washed it', dried it, hulled it, and packaged it up (weeks of work), it didn't strike me as that big a deal until I went on a tour of the Azotea Coffee plantation outside of Antigua a few weeks ago. There, on sight, we were able to see the process from start to finish: from planting the seed, transplanting the seedling, harvesting the ripe crop, shelling the two halves, drying the beans, hulling the parchment off, roasting, shipping, grinding, to the finished product: a pleasing, sweet-smelling, delicious cup of black coffee. Seems like a whole lot of work and a whole lot of time for one simple product which we consume every day. On our tour, we were told that 1 coffee plant, which only produces one crop a year, produces only enough coffee for approximately 40 cups! Wow, how many plants worth have I drank this year already?

The preparation process for coffee is intense, requires just the right climate, and entails numerous steps before one can enjoy the final product. This encouraged me with the ministry I find myself in. Just like hurrying up the process or skipping a step in the production of coffee would produce a product not appropriate for consumption. In the same way, I need to be faithful to patiently accomplish the steps necessary to see the appropriate final product of ministry, which is changed lives. This includes learning the language, understanding the culture, compehending the needs, and knowing and loving the people. This all takes time, but it is time well spent when we become "the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing". (2 Cor. 2:15)

Pray for us as we prepare for the gardens this summer. Pray for us as we are being invited into people's homes. Pray that my Spanish will progress and that I will be faithful to practice it and use it. Pray that the aroma of Christ coming from us, like the aroma of coffee, would have an attractional characteristic.

Peace,
Jason